by Kumo Kagyu
But that was not what got her attention when she stood, still clinging to her staff.
“I can’t… I can’t use spells…!”
The cry ran through the party before anyone could cast anything. They had two priests and a shaman. More than half the party was spell casters. The ability to use magic was nothing less than a matter of life and death for them.
“It’s that eye!” Dwarf Shaman exclaimed, grinding his teeth. “Beard-cutter, give ’im hell!”
“Certainly.”
As he spoke, Goblin Slayer pulled an egg out of his item bag and launched it at the creature. It flew straight into its target, shattering into a cloud of blackish-red smoke—tear gas.
“OOOOODEEARARARA?!?!”
The stinging stuff flew into all of its many eyes, drawing a bellow of dismay from the monster. Of course, the Giant Eye was on an altogether different level from any goblin, and this trick was not enough to do it any damage.
However—
“All riiight, here I come!”
—it was more than enough to get them their turn to act.
Dwarf Shaman tumbled in, grabbing a handful of dirt from his bag and flinging it into the air in one smooth motion.
“Come out, you gnomes, it’s time to build! Let all this space with earth be filled! Fear no wind and fear no waves—a solid wall keeps them at bay!”
He scattered the dust as he chanted.
Then Dwarf Shaman dropped what looked like a child’s toy version of a stone wall on the floor.
It grew as they watched, until a full-fledged earthen battlement stood before them.
Spirit Wall was like Protection, but took physical rather than immaterial form. And unlike a Protection barrier, it was impossible to see through a Spirit Wall.
“What do you think of that?”
But he seemed to have gotten the attention of the Giant Eye, which had presently cleared away the tear gas.
Its squirming tentacles turned toward the Spirit Wall and glinted maliciously.
“BEEEHOOOOLLLL!!”
In the next instant, a dazzling light filled the sacred space.
“Hrrg—!”
“This will not do!”
“Hu—Wha—?!”
Goblin Slayer and Lizard Priest shouted and jumped back. Dwarf Shaman grunted.
A single red line ran down the face of the Spirit Wall, bubbling up even as they watched, melting through it…
“It’s hot—!”
“Ahh no!”
Priestess cried out as the exploding wall caught her. Dwarf Shaman supported her as best he could as he helped them both to flee from the debris. No sooner had it burst through their barrier than the light vanished, leaving scorch marks on the floor of the chapel.
Heat vision? No…
It was an intense form of Disintegrate loosed by one of the Giant Eye’s tentacle eyeballs.
“Those evil eyes are capable of Dispel and Disintegrate!” Even their great melee fighter, Lizard Priest, could only keep his distance. No matter how tough his scales, they couldn’t deflect Disintegrate. He wanted to summon a Dragontooth Warrior as a sort of wall of his own, but it was only too clear the Giant Eye would simply give it a glare and dispel it.
But then, to lash out with his claws and fangs and tail, making a weapon of himself, put him at risk of the heat ray.
“J-just what are we supposed to do about this thing?!”
“For now, fall back!”
While High Elf Archer tried to mount an attack, Goblin Slayer’s response was sharp and sure. He drew his sword in his right hand and held up his shield on his left, putting Dwarf Shaman and Priestess behind him.
“Got it…!”
The elf sought safety there as well, taking the last few steps at a leap.
“BEBEBEBEBEEEEHOO!!”
“Hwa?!”
She hopped to avoid the impact at her feet. The heat ray singed off a few strands of her hair, and she cursed once or twice in elvish. She tumbled haphazardly but found herself near Goblin Slayer.
“Are you all right?”
“Huh?!” High Elf Archer jumped back, long ears trembling in surprise. “I’m fine… Thanks.”
“I see.”
“Now, this is trouble indeed…” Lizard Priest, who had crawled back so as to avoid the heat ray, gave a laborious sigh.
“BEEHOHOHO…”
The Giant Eye showed no further sign of attacking, apparently satisfied to have driven the adventurers out of the chapel. It floated back to where it had started, watching the entranceway again.
“It looks like…as long as we don’t…go in the room…it won’t attack us,” Priestess said, breathing raggedly and slumping against the wall. “It must be…protecting this place.”
“Doesn’t matter for now. Rest… Here, water.”
“Oh, th-thank you…”
High Elf Archer wetted her lips with one or two swigs from her canteen, then held it out to Priestess. The young woman took it with both hands, then drank delicately, swallowing almost inaudibly.
“I think…if it couldn’t see me, I could perform the miracle…”
“But get within spitting distance, and it’ll sure see you.” Dwarf Shaman didn’t try to hide his frustration as he sat down heavily. “We can’t use spells, and it’s got a heat ray and more extremities than all of us put together. We can’t win!”
“No,” Goblin Slayer said, rifling through his item bag. “There’s something I want to try.”
“I just want to remind you, fire, water, and poison gas are off-limits.”
“I remember,” Goblin Slayer said calmly to High Elf Archer, who had narrowed her eyes at him. “I didn’t bring any implements of fire or water with me. And I doubt poison would work.”
High Elf Archer gave a little sniff and muttered, “Fine,” giving her ears a deliberate shake.
“Just to be sure, we are outside of town, right?”
“I should think so,” Dwarf Shaman said, perking up his ears and cocking his head. “We walked quite a ways, and the feeling here is definitely different.”
“No problem, then.”
“Then it’s decided,” Lizard Priest said, clapping his hands. “As we’ve no other ingenious ideas and we must eliminate that accursed fiend, we shall rely on milord Goblin Slayer’s tactic.”
“Thank you,” Goblin Slayer said with a nod. His helmet turned toward High Elf Archer. “I need that creature distracted, just for a second. I need someone to go inside and start running. Can you do it?”
“Leave it to me!” High Elf Archer nodded enthusiastically, her ears twitching up and down.
“Can you cast Stupor? I don’t want it to be able to use its heat ray.”
“From here?” Dwarf Shaman stroked his beard, then held up his thumb and closed one eye.
He stretched out his arm toward the Giant Eye in the chapel as if to take aim, judging the distance.
“By the number of flagstones, I’d say… Right. I think it will work!” He gave an incongruous smile and slapped his belly as if to emphasize his boast.
Good. Goblin Slayer nodded and turned next to Lizard Priest.
“We need a Dragontooth Warrior. One is enough. Can you do it?”
“I am somewhat worried about that Dispel…”
“I’ll make sure it can’t see.”
“Without that evil eye, I think it can be done. You can count on me.” He rolled his eyes in enjoyment.
“Finally,” Goblin Slayer said, looking at Priestess, “when I give the signal, I want you to cast Protection on the entrance.”
She swallowed heavily and faced him as squarely as she could.
“Will you be able to do it?”
“…Yes, sir! It’ll be fine!” She held her sounding staff firmly with both hands and gave a deep nod. “Let’s do it!”
And so the battle began.
“Well, if all I have to do is not get fried…”
The Giant Eye rolled about to look at High Elf Archer as she came dashing i
nto the room, as fleet-footed as a hare. She moved her svelte legs, running on top of the benches through the hall.
The Giant Eye floated through the air, its gaze following her in the most literal sense. Its stalks full of eyeballs began to get that dangerous glint.
“BEBEBEBEBEHOHOOOOOL!!”
“Ohhh boy, here it comes, here it comes…”
Shouting in a voice too high to be coquettish and too soft to be a scream, High Elf Archer leaped out of the way. Obviously, not even an elf is quicker than the speed of light. Dodging an eye as it tries to take aim, though? That’s a different story.
The beam flashed soundlessly, burning High Elf Archer’s silhouette onto the ancient walls and floor.
There’s some satisfaction in that, she thought, smiling as she danced nimbly away.
Her elder sister or her cousin, both much more experienced than she, might have managed even more. It should have been easy enough to shoot at the Giant Eye while tumbling away from its Disintegrate.
She still had much to learn. But she was not the first of her brethren to follow this path.
She knew she had time to spare. Time was always on the side of an elf. At least, so long as she didn’t get herself killed.
That meant the future was less important than focusing everything she had on the present moment. High Elf Archer vaulted boldly around the room without worry, without fear.
Nothing could have been more infuriating to the Giant Eye.
“OOOOOLLDER!!”
The great main eye spun faster, trying to launch more attacks and more precisely.
“Oh-ho! That’s my long-ears! She seems to be doing well for herself.”
This meant the creature took its eyes—all of them—off Dwarf Shaman, who was laughing merrily near the entrance to the chapel.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a red jug full of wine. An exquisite fragrance drifted out as he unstoppered it and tossed it back so quickly a few drops dribbled into his long beard.
He sloshed it around in his mouth, then blew it gleefully into the air.
“Drink deep, sing loud, let the spirits lead you! Sing loud, step quick, and when to sleep they see you, may a jar of fire wine be in your dreams to greet you!”
And indeed, the spray of spirits rolled across the room and enveloped the Giant Eye.
“BE…DERRRR…?”
It began to wobble in the air, looking like it might just fall to the ground.
No one knew what the agent of chaos dreamed when it finally fell asleep.
“Ahh,” Dwarf Shaman said happily, “just look what a man can do when he’s not being stared down by a floating eyeball of death.” He wiped his mouth with his glove.
“…Good.” At Dwarf Shaman’s nod, Goblin Slayer came bounding into the chapel. He moved with nothing like the lightness of High Elf Archer, but still showed impressive agility for someone in full armor.
As he ran, he scattered something from a pouch he had taken out of his item bag. Before long, a dense trail of white dust was floating behind him.
“What’s that, Orcbolg?” asked High Elf Archer.
“Wheat flour. Don’t breathe it in.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’ve got in mind, but you could’ve said that sooner.”
She frowned and covered her mouth, but he ignored her as he tossed the wheat flour all around.
It wasn’t long before the cramped chapel was filled with the stuff.
Now the stupefied Giant Eye—along with everything else more than an inch in front of their faces—was hidden from view.
“Ho, Beard-cutter, long-ears! The spell won’t last much longer!”
Before Goblin Slayer could answer the dwarf, High Elf Archer was moving.
“This way, Orcbolg!”
The elf’s heightened senses let her get by without her sight. Goblin Slayer followed the clear voice out of the chapel.
“Hrrah!”
As Goblin Slayer came out, Lizard Priest stepped forward, tossing a huge number of fangs inside the entrance. The bones quickly swelled and joined, rising up in the form of a warrior bearing a sword and shield. The adventurers were quite used to these fearsome skeletons by now, and this one headed wordlessly into the hall.
Watching it disappear into the quicklime smoke, Lizard Priest opened his mouth.
“Milord Goblin Slayer, I trust my Dragontooth Warrior, but even it cannot win against Disintegrate.”
“Not a problem,” Goblin Slayer said and turned to High Elf Archer and Priestess. “Fire an arrow. If you can hit the monster, that will be enough.”
“That’ll break the effects of Stupor, though.”
“Doesn’t matter. Then you immediately cast Protection on the entranceway.” He continued calmly: “Your role is crucial. If you falter, we all die.”
“Y-yes, sir!” She nodded as confidently as she could, squeezing her staff with both hands.
“You really couldn’t think of a better way to put that?” High Elf Archer grumbled, but she nocked an arrow into her bow. The spider-silk string whispered as she drew it tight, fixing the target of the tree-branch shaft.
Elven archers aim not with the eyes, but with the mind.
“…!”
The arrow flew; they could not even hear it slice through the air, only see the weaving silhouette as it penetrated the cloud of dust.
But she didn’t need to see anything to know what had happened.
“I got it!”
“O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, by the power of the land grant safety to we who are weak…!”
This time the Earth Mother was able to grant the miracle her humble follower prayed for.
An invisible wall sealed the entrance to the chapel. Dwarf Shaman blinked several times.
“The powder—a sealed room—hold on, you can’t possibly—”
Goblin Slayer shouted:
“Plug your ears, open your mouths—and duck!”
“BE…HOOLLLOOHOHOHO!!”
The Giant Eye was roused from its stupor by a sudden piercing pain.
It found its eye run through by a bud-tipped arrow. There was dust everywhere; it could barely see.
But it could make out the humanoid silhouette coming toward it, weapon in hand. Would these intruders never learn? If the creature had anything we would recognize as feelings, it was probably quite annoyed at that moment.
It swept around, opening its eye wide and taking aim with its tentacle eyes. Its terrible Disintegrate built up enough heat to do critical damage, and its light began to glow…
“LDEEERRRRRRRR!!!”
At first, Priestess didn’t know what had happened.
She thought perhaps the place had been struck by lightning.
It was an explosion.
She had heard a series of popping sounds; then the room had been enveloped in a fireball. As it expanded, it decimated everything in the chapel, overwhelming all with its roar and the fury of its heat.
“Hu—ah!”
Priestess covered her face; even on the far side of the Protection barrier, it was hot enough to burn.
At the edge of her constricted vision, she could see High Elf Archer curled into a ball and desperately covering her ears. Dust fell from overhead, and the ruins shook so violently she wondered if the entire structure might not come crashing down.
Finally, the billowing smoke began to clear.
“…Look,” Goblin Slayer said shortly. He had crouched down but seemed otherwise unfazed.
High Elf Archer took an obedient peek into the chapel and saw that the Giant Eye was still there.
Up above.
It must have been thrown upward and slammed into the ceiling by the explosion. The blackened monster’s tentacles squirmed pathetically. One after another, they fell irresistibly away, as if they were being pulled off…
Splork.
They made a disgusting, meaty sound as they struck the floor in the middle of the room. The creature was just a crisped hunk of flesh no
w. It thrashed several times, spewing some kind of liquid, then finally stopped moving.
Thus, the Watcher, the monster of chaos summoned from another realm, met its end.
“…Seems to have done the trick,” Dwarf Shaman said flatly. He started to rise sluggishly.
Lizard Priest offered a hand, flicking his tongue. “Wheat flour, milord Goblin Slayer? What exactly did you do?”
“Something I heard from a coal miner.” Goblin Slayer entered the chapel with his usual bold, nonchalant stride. “He said that if a spark is lit in a room full of powder, it spreads quickly and then explodes.”
He drew his sword and drove it into the creature on the ground, making sure there was no reaction. “But it was more trouble to prepare than I expected. And there’s too much risk of the fire spreading uncontrollably. Altogether too dangerous.” Goblin Slayer shook his head and muttered, “It won’t be any use against goblins.”
“And it was an explosion!” High Elf Archer put her ears back and laid into Goblin Slayer.
As well she should. Hadn’t he promised? But he was unmoved by her accusation.
“It wasn’t an attack by fire, or water, or poison gas.”
“You’re missing the point! You—ahhh, never mind.”
Sighing, High Elf Archer entered the worship hall in wonder.
I know his heart’s in the right place, but he’s not very good at keeping to the spirit of his promises.
Luckily for them, with the Giant Eye dispatched, there seemed to be no further signs of life in the room. That agent of chaos seemed to have been the boss of this dungeon.
Maybe that alligator, swimming around like it owned the place, had been the ruins’ previous master. Whatever the case, there had been a change of ownership.
“Umm… What did you plan to do if it didn’t explode?” Priestess asked, keeping pace with Goblin Slayer with pattering steps.
“As one of you said, this thing seemed interested only in defending this spot,” he answered, nudging the creature with his toe. “We would have shot arrows at it from the hall, then run before it could collect itself. We would have done that until it died.”
Goblin Slayer nodded as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
“It takes time, but it’s reliable.”
“Yuck. Wouldn’t that make me the one who had to do all the work? Give me a break!” High Elf Archer had completed her inspection of the area, satisfied that they were safe.
